Jerusalem by night

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For SkyWatch Friday, the black dome of the heavens above Jerusalem!

The Old City was lit up last week with dozens of dazzling light displays for the 4th International Light Festival.

At the foot of the newly rebuilt Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter--a whirling "Meetings Composition" with its movements triggered by the location of the spectator.

At the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer--dynamic illumination to nice music.

Illuminated narrow street in the Armenian Quarter.

At Jaffa Gate--the Italian "Cupola."

But even with "just" her normal illumination, the Old City is beautiful, so beautiful.
Here, the Western Wall and above it, the Temple Mount with the Muslim Dome of the Rock and el Aksa mosque.

The Citadel or Tower of David.

Hundreds of thousands walked along the old city wall and entered by various gates.
Enlarge the photo to see the people.
In the sky above the Latin Patriarchate, a big Vatican flag.

The Old City and the new city.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
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Inside the Hurva Synagogue at last!

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A graceful stairway to heaven for the SkyWatch Friday folks.

Shadow Shot meme friends--see how strange the shadow came out on the wall!

Last week I drehed and drehed on that spiral staircase to get to the very top and capture the shadow of the railing.
Where were we?

At the newly rebuilt (dedicated in 2010) Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City!

Photo: Israel Government Press Office

"Hurva" is the Hebrew word for "ruins" and this is how the synagogue looked in 1967, right after the Six Day War, when we could again enter Jerusalem's Old City.
Jordan's Arab Legion had purposely blown up the famous synagogue in 1948.

The courses of stones that remained standing were incorporated into the rebuilt walls and were left unplastered, for all to see (and to remember).
You can see how the white plaster above marks the line where 21st century masonry begins.

The stained glass and the wall paintings were copied from the originals.
The neo-Byzantine style synagogue was first built in 1864.

Actually it was destroyed twice. Its whole incredible history, international intrigues and all, can be learned at Wikipedia.

The aron kodesh, the holy ark for the Torah scrolls, is two storeys high!

Women are not allowed to pray on the ground floor, which is the men's territory.
But boy, it's a long way down.

Here is the bimah from which the Torah scroll is read during prayer services.

Enlarge the picture and find two men studying together.
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May the Hurva never be in ruins again.

See also my post of the new Hurva under construction .
For more details try the articles here and here.
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Shabbat shalom.
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(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday.)
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Hurva Synagogue rededicated tonight

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My world, for That's My World, very much revolves around the developments in Jerusalem of the past week.
This tall crane was taken down a few days ago, after four and a half years of work.

That is how long it took to rebuild HaHurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

The previous one had looked exactly the same, built in the grand Neo-Byzantine style in 1864.

Photo from Israel Government Press Office as it appears in Wikipedia

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When the Israeli army won the battle for the Old City in the 1967 Six Day War, this is how we found the Hurva synagogue looking. The Hebrew word hurva means ruins.

In our 1948 War of Independence, Jordan's Arab Legion attacked the Jewish Quarter. The Israeli fighters of the Haganah had to use the synagogue as their last stronghold. We lost that battle, and all the Jews were expelled from the Old City or captured and held prisoner.

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The Jordanians blew up the building NOT in the heat of battle, but after they had already won the battle and taken over the Old City. Explosives were placed with careful thought exactly under the springing points of the domes of the great Hurva synagogue.
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This is actually the third rebuilding of this synagogue.
The first one, from the early 1700s, was burned down in 1721 by Arab creditors angry that the Jews were not quick enough in repaying the money they had borrowed to build it.

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The whole incredible history, international intrigues and all, can be learned at Wikipedia.
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Tonight, Rosh Hodesh Nisan, the Hurva was dedicated with much celebration.
After all these years, the mezuzah was affixed to the doorpost and Torah scrolls were placed in the holy ark.

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I will try to go soon to tour the interior and take pictures. Meanwhile, Arutz Sheva has a 5-minute video of the inside. The wall paintings are impressive.

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To get a feeling of the events of the 1948 war that we talked about above, I highly recommend the candid Life magazine photos. I just discovered a blogger who has put together the best Life shots here (and more here and here).

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